Kawaca

Kawaca is a term for war attire mentioned in Old Javanese texts.[1]: 320  Its name comes from the Sanskrit kawaca which means armor, cuirass, a type of chain mail, any kind of cover, corset, jacket.[2]: 823 

Close-up of a statue in Singhasari temple. According to I.D. Nugroho, this is an armor made of assembled plates.

Description
A cuirass being presented by a brahmin, depicted in the Borobudur temple.

Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder, in his Old Javanese-English dictionary, defines kawaca as a chain mail, possibly shaped like a jacket, which is made of metal. The word also has a second meaning, namely the shirt worn by the clergy.[2]: 823  Irawan Djoko Nugroho argues that in a military context, kawaca means armor. It is shaped like a long tube and is made of cast copper.[1]: 202, 386  According to Jiří Jákl, kawaca was a metal breastplate worn on the upper body of a high-ranking soldier.[3]: 78  In high Balinese language, kwaca or kuwaca is a general term for a jacket, although it used to mean armor in Old Javanese.[4]: 216  In modern Javanese language, kawaca means cuirass or chain mail.[5]

The Kakawin Ramayana (c. 870 AD), which is the Javanese version of Valmiki's epic Ramayana (c. 500 CE), mentions clothing and armor that reflect the era. A member of the royal family is said to wear crown, padaka (collar, medallion, or breastplate), karambalangan (girdle or plastron) and use gold-plated armor even in battle.[2]: 802 [6]: 27  Kakawin Ramayana also mentions the term watek makawaca, which means armored troops.[3]: 77 

A suit of armor, or specifically cuirass,[7]: 47  is depicted on the reliefs of the Divyavadana story in the Borobudur temple. In that story, it is said that Rudrayana sent a gift to king Bimbisara in the form of his famous cuirass which not only had miraculous powers but was also adorned with priceless gems.[8]: 282  The cuirass is depicted as sleeveless and apparently closed in front.[9]: 233, plate XXXVII 

See also

References
  1. Nugroho, Irawan Djoko (2011). Majapahit Peradaban Maritim. Suluh Nuswantara Bakti. ISBN 978-602-9346-00-8.
  2. Zoetmulder, P. J. (1982). Old Javanese-English dictionary. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. ISBN 9024761786.
  3. Jákl, Jiří (2014). Literary Representations of War and Warfare in Old Javanese Kakawin Poetry (PhD thesis). The University of Queensland.
  4. Jákl, Jiří; Hoogervorst, Tom (2017). "Custom, Combat, and Ceremony: Java and the Indo-Persian Textile Trade". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient. 103: 207–235. doi:10.3406/befeo.2017.6248.
  5. Robson, Stuart; Wibisono, Singgih (2013). Javanese English Dictionary. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9781462910618.
  6. Tjoa-Bonatz, Mai Lin (2019). "JAVA : ARTS AND REPRESENTATIONS. Art historical and Archaeometric Analyses of Ancient Jewellery (7–16th C.) : The Prillwitz Collection of Javanese Gold". Archipel (97): 19–68. doi:10.4000/archipel.1018. S2CID 197855704.
  7. Wales, H. G. Quaritch (1952). Ancient South-East Asian Warfare. London: Bernard Quaritch.
  8. Krom, N.J. (1900). Barabudur: Archaeological Description Volume I. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
  9. Foucher, A. (1917). Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central Asian Archaeology. London: Humphrey Milford.


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